OpenAI’s recent ChatGPT 5 launch seems to have drawn in more criticism than praise. Apart from the controversy which forced the company to bring back the 4o model, it seems ChatGPT users are stuck in yet another frustrating situation created by the new GPT5 update. Reports are piling up about vanished chat histories, especially within the Projects feature, where people organize their conversations for work or personal projects.
Some reported that a chat would sit in the sidebar but refuse to open. Others said the app or browser would show only a handful of recent chats and give no option to load more. Take njbsuperman, for instance. He shared his frustration on the OpenAI community forum, stating,
I utilize the “Project” functionality in ChatGPT Plus and I have existing projects that are created by using that functionality. As Projects “Keep chats, files, and custom instructions in one place…”.
Currently, there is a big issue with ChatGPT 5 when working in the Project files, (Either existing or New Projects) that ChatGPT 5 does not understand how to code or ChatGPT 5 does not know how to review or compare files either in chat or the project files knowledgebase for each project. It also has a difficult time looking through past discussions.
Similarly, Sem_Nor and s_var chimed in, saying they’ve reported the bugs and are waiting for fixes. The error often shows up as “conversation_tree_corrupt,” blocking access to entire threads in Projects.
This trouble seems tied directly to the high demand following the ChatGPT 5 launch on August 10. OpenAI support reportedly acknowledged the strain in a response to one user: “We’re currently experiencing higher-than-usual demand related to the GPT-5 launch, which is impacting availability and performance for some users.”
They assured that engineers are boosting capacity, but in the meantime, users face slower replies, glitches, and outright disappearances. For those using the Mac app or web version, projects might load only up to the faulty chat, leaving older ones hidden.
In the r/ChatGPT subreddit, IllustriousWelder87 posted about chats vanishing from both regular history and Projects. Only the newest 10 or 11 appear, with no way to scroll further or load more. Searching exact phrases brings them back temporarily, but it’s a band-aid at best. Other Plus subscribers, like Gentleigh21 and RoyalWe666, confirmed losing unsorted chats around the launch date.
While waiting for an official fix, resourceful users have shared temporary workarounds. One method involves using the desktop app to create a new, parallel project and painstakingly move all non-corrupted conversations over one by one. Another user discovered a trick that sometimes allows a stuck conversation to be opened in the desktop app directly from the web URL in Google Chrome.
Give these potential workarounds a shot and let me know if they work for you. In the meantime, we’ll continue to track the situation and will update the article if and when there are any further developments.
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Dwayne Cubbins
1271 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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